Fat Talk: What Girls and Their Parents Say About Dieting
Harvard University Press, 2000, Mimi Nichter, Ph.D.
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In this book, Dr. Nichter, assistant professor
of anthropology at the University of Arizona, concludes from interviews
with 200 high school girls that while girls are inordinately obsessed
with their weight, they talk about dieting far more than they do it.
Parents who hope to keep their girls from falling victim to body image
problems and eating disorders may find this book worth consuming.
The Adonis Complex: The Secret Crisis of Male Body
Obsession
Free Press, 2000, Authors: Harrison Pope
Jr., M.D.; Roberto Olivardia, Ph.D., and Katherine Phillips, M.D.
Buy Now
According to this book, men are now nearly as obsessed with their
bodies as women are, and suffer increasingly from anorexia, bulimia,
exercise addiction, weird diets and steroid abuse. The three authors, provide evidence of the problem, a test you can take to see if you've got it, and advice on getting help.
The Death of Psychotherapy: From Freud to Alien Abductions
Praeger, 2000, Donald Eisner, Ph.D.
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This psychologist's cynical guide to
the vast array of therapy options now available. While Eisner is overly
harsh in suggesting that there is no solid scientific support for the
effectiveness of any of the 500 brands of therapy, he does well to warn
us of the most dubious approaches.
Nonzero: The Logic of Human
Destiny
Pantheon, 2000, Robert Wright
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Science writer Robert Wright has words of optimism for those who
think our society is deteriorating fast. In he argues that both biological and cultural evolution "possesses directionality"--and that that direction is onward
and upward toward a richer, more civilized world.
The Jubilation Procedures: Living a Life of Joy
Trafford Publishing, 2000, James Geiwitz, Ph.D.
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This book offers practical advice for the down and out. The
author suggests, for example, that if
pleasant social encounters cheer you up, you should try to express more
interest in others. That may lead them to provide more of the social
contact you crave.
A World of Babies: Imagined Childcare Guides for Seven Societies
Cambridge University Press, 2000, Judy DeLoache,
Ph.D., and Alma Gottlieb, Ph.D.
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Child psychologist Judy DeLoache,
and anthropologist Alma Gottlieb, asked child experts to
write short childrearing manuals for seven societies around the world.
The book challenges American norms and approaches to raising children.
The guide for the Ifaluk people of Micronesia, for example, advises
parents to bathe their babies three times a day, while in the United
States, parents tend to wash their infants once a day or less.
In I Don't Know Why...I Guess I'm Shy
Magination Press, 2000, Barbara Cain, MSW
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For children 4 to 8, author Barbara Cain, tells the story of shy little
Sam, who is searching for Sparky, his runaway dog. Sam heroically forces
himself to ask a number of helpful strangers about the pup's
where-abouts. His efforts pay off, and in the process, he becomes less
shy. At the end, Cain offers advice on helping the timid child relax in
social situations. J. J. Smith-Moore provides inviting
illustrations.
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